Tag: Movie review

Unknown Origins

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https://vocal.media/geeks/

Rating: 4 stars out of 5
Starring: Javier Rey, Antonio Resines, Brays Efe, Verónica Echegaray, Ernesto Alterio
Where to watch: Netflix
To watch or not to watch: A good spoof movie which sets itself apart by its good-ness

The movie opens with a murder of a man. The said man is murdered by steroids injected into him, enough to make him Hulk. This is followed my another murder of a man who has his heart pulled out and replaced by a metal suit. These cases are given to a new cop David (Javier Rey) and Cosme (Antonio Resines), but Cosme is on the brink of retirement (quite literally, the day the first murder is discovered, is the last day for Cosme before retirement). It is soon inferred that these murders have an association with the comic world, of which Jorge (Brays Efe) is an expert – he also happens to be the son of Cosme. So now David and Cosme (much to David’s chagrin) go around understanding the crime, the method and inspiration, which leads them to the criminal eventually. There is also a love angle, because why not, between David and his boss Norma (Verónica Echegaray).

If the above story triggers a memory of David Fincher’s Se7en, no brownie points for you – the movie is quite on the nose about it, mentioning it in one of the dialogues. Despite the sacrilege arising from spoofing one of the best psychological thrillers till date, the movie delivers on what it promises.
First of all, it is doesn’t take itself seriously. It is a fun take on comic book heroes, serial killers and investigations.
Second of all, the quality of direction and production is really good. It doesn’t skimp on that, just because it is sort-of spoof, quite unlike the other spoofs out there.
Finally, the ending of the movie is really good. By no means perfect, but good. The mystery is very unexpected.

This movie is by no means perfect – not the best story, not the best acting, etc. But it is highly entertaining. It is light-hearted and resonates with people because of connection with Se7en and superheroes. This is what the movie was aiming at and it achieves it. The only thing which it could have done without is Norma’s character. It is only a filler, for a gap that doesn’t exist. And to make it even weirder, there is a romantic angle between David and Norma, because apparently two attractive people have to love each other. Without this angle, the whole movie would have come out crisper and more focused. Nonetheless, it is a good one-time watch for people looking for pure entertainment.

Last Night in SoHo

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https://www.soctex.com/last-night-in-soho-2021-review-details-trailer/

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5
Starring: Thomasin McKenzie, Anya Taylor-Joy, Matt Smith
Where to watch: Lionsgate Play
To watch or not to watch: A highly recommended watch for horror genre movie seekers

Ellie Turner (Thomasin McKenzie) is an aspiring fashion designer who is inspired by the style of the 60s. She has some supernatural powers which enables her to see her mother who committed suicide when Ellie was a kid. She moves from a small town to London to study fashion and lodges with an elderly lady named Ms Collins. At night, in her dreams, Ellie is transported to the 1960s London and she sees the city life of nightclubs through the eyes of an aspiring singer Sandie. Sandie falls in love with a nightclub manager Jack. These dreams instill confidence in Ellie and also inspires her fashion designs in real life. Steadily, her dreams of Sandie start to become nightmares where she sees Sandie being exploited by Jack and her descent into prostitution and drugs. Ellie is extremely disturbed by what she sees in 1960s London that she starts seeing the people from her dreams in her real life.

This movie is pure horror and nothing but excellence is expected from any Edgar Wright. It will live in the movie world as one of the best horror movies ever made. It covers the emotional aspect of a misfit’s desire to find affection, confidence and an emotional connection with another fellow human, and uses that emotion to blow into a nightmare and mystery of epic proportions. It has a hint of exploitation of females in the mid-90s but doesn’t dwell on it. In fact, it takes that exploitation and turns it into empowerment at an unbelievable scale (least said unless it becomes a spoiler).

Edar Wright is regarded as an original movie maker for a reason – he takes the most common genres and spins a story which is uniquely crafted and Last Night in SoHo is no different. It has flawless transitions between time periods, and dreams to reality. It is easy to feel the angst in Ellie because of the way she is treated by people and her longing to make friends. It is easy to understand why she was completely enthralled by Sandie and her confidence. And when Sandie’s life hits a downward spiral, Ellie takes it upon herself to save her one and only friend. Just that, Thomasin’s delivery does fall slightly flat at times. She needs to mature a bit more in the acting game. Anya Taylor-Joy is spectacular and a perfect choice to play Sandie. No one could have done it better.

There is no end of praise which can be showered on the movie. Suffice to say, please do watch it if you love horror.

Bhoothkalam

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https://www.manoramaonline.com/

Rating: 4 out of 5
Starring: Shane Nigam, Revathy, Saiju Kurup, James Eliya and Athira Patel
Streaming on: Sony Liv
To watch or not to watch: A good watch for people on the hunt for a thrilling movie

Asha (Revathy) and her son Vinu (Shane Nigam) live together with Asha’s mother in a house. They are financially hard-up, with Vinu not having a job since one and a half years after graduating, and Asha being a school teacher, not making enough. Vinu has taken to substance abuse and Asha suffers from clinical depression, which is aggravated by her mother’s passing. Slowly and steadily Vinu’s mental health starts declining and he becomes sleep deprived, easily startled, and aggressive. So his hearing sounds at night and seeing shadows is attributed to his addictions and is a counsellor is consulted. That is when the history of the house, incidents with the past tenants comes to fore and story takes shape.

The storyline is stupidly simple, in a good way. There is linearity in things unfolding and not much is said about what happened in the past in Asha’s and Vinu’s lives which has shaped them this way – it is only hinted at. And it is annoying. It neither helps nor can it be ignored, as it is fundamental to the relationship mother-son share, which is in-turn fundamental to the story. There are also false starts (Granny staring at Vinu when he is helping to put her to bed), loud music from out of no where, which dies the sudden death special to amorphous entities, with nothing to show for it. And also a love song in the background of Vinu’s and Priya’s date, when it has not shown to have any bearing on Vinu’s life – Priya just exists.
Now that that’s out of the way, we can come to why this movie is recommended. The movie shines in camera work, direction and ACTING, a bit of story too. The play of shadows and difference in views of Asha and Vinu are beautifully done, the viewer gets to be in the same room as them and understand the agitation, helplessness and frustration when they are not able to understand each other. The show-not-tell segue into the past of the house with the counselor investigating the truth is better done than in most movies, though far from perfect.

This movie wins on most points, specially since horror has been an under-performing genre in Indian cinema as a whole. The fact that Revathy stars in it, who is better known to the masses, helps bring this movie to the fore, and demography of cinema lovers is all the better for it. It is a simple movie, no gore, crazy made-up ghost or VFX, it is a plain haunted house horror. The last 17 minutes of the movie, shot in one bedroom and dining area really does justice to the almost one and a quarter hour spent before. Only wish the cinema can grow to understand movies can be made with without a romantic angle in the lead’s life and some more of the backbone story. And it is only being said because this movie was so so close to perfection. Highly recommended.

Dial 100

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https://www.bollywoodmdb.com/movies/

Rating: 2 out of 5

Starring: Manoj Bajpayee, Neena Gupta, Sakshi Tanwar, Abhijeet Chavan, Nandu Madhav

Streaming on: Zee5

To watch or not to watch: Extremely predictable, with good performances

Nikhil Soni (Manoj Bajpayee) is a police officer supervising emergency calls, when they receive a call from a woman in distress, who is planning to commit suicide. She is depressed because of the death of her young son in an accident the previous year. Meanwhile, Nikhil is also dealing with a domestic situation – his 17 year old son has a criminal past and is doing little to mend his ways, giving his mother Prerna (Sakshi Tanwar) sleepless nights. The suicidal woman (Neena Gupta) reveals her true agenda, which is vendetta against the people responsible for her son’s death.

It all sounds thrilling, right? Yea, it’s not. From the first, it is obvious the caller lady is connected with Nikhil Sood and has something to do with the crime connected to his son. All the thrill of the movie is collected in the trailer, which undoubtedly is compelling. The whole is lackluster to say the least. The fact that Manoj Bajpayee is a police officer, same as in Family Man, which was rightfully popular, does not seem like a coincidence. It is definitely clickbait. The actors have all delivered flawless performances. Special mention of Sakshi Tanwar, who is not praised nearly enough and who has delivered absolutely believable performance – quality stuff.

This was another disappointing release by Zee5 and another one which was tirelessly promoted across all platforms. Another release with class A performance and script from the bottom of the barrel. It is fundamentally wrong to continuously produce low quality content, specially by a production house as big as Zee. It is our responsibility as consumers to respond by our actions and not watch or promote content which is bad and plain lazy. As for the movie, nothing against the performances, but don’t watch it.

Rebecca

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https://www.imdb.com/

Rating: 2.5 out of 5

Starring: Lily James, Armie Hammer, Kristin Scott Thomas

Streaming on: Netflix

To watch or not to watch: A movie no one asked for, and makes the 1940 movie look far superior in comparison

It is based on the novel by Dame Daphne du Maurier. It follows the married life of an unnamed protagonist (Lily James) who started out as a lady’s companion, and meets a wealthy widower, Maxim de Winter (Armie Hammer), while on holiday in Monte Carlo. After a short and whirlwind romance, they get married and move to Manderley House in England. There the new Mrs de Winter comes in contact with the memories of the previous Mrs de Winter (Rebecca), who lives on in the minds of the housekeeper, the indomitable Mrs Danvers (Kristin Scott Thomas) and basically everyone who has met Rebecca. To fit the image of the perfect wife, Mrs de Winter tries very hard to emulate Rebecca, but it seems nothing can please her husband, who grows more distant with time. The story closes with a deep secret which has the potential to destroy the life of the married couple, if exposed.

*Sigh* Even without much expectations, the movie disappoints. The performances of the protagonists isn’t spectacular to begin with, and the awful direction makes it worse. The only one worth mentioning is Kristin Scott Thomas, who is every bit as Mrs Danvers as in the book, but unfortunately doesn’t get enough screen time. The director seems to rely on the knowledge of the viewers about the story, so he doesn’t put in much effort. Things do progess (slightly) in act 3, when it differs from the Hitchcock’s adaptation and Ben Wheatley seemed to come alive on the set for the first time. It doesn’t help though, as the whole premise – the extent of the unnatural adoration of Rebecca by Mrs Danvers – is never fully explained or explored. There was ample opporunity to make this movie stand out, as multiple themes of obsession, homosexuality or illegitimacy could have been explained which were a taboo at the time the book and first movie came out.

It is sad to see a lost opportunity in the world of cinema. The story in and of itself is a masterpiece and the failure of the reproduction cannot go to the performances alone. The only thing that stands out, other than Kristin Scott Thomas (who is the only reason the movie got as many stars as it did), is the cinematography, sets and costume design. The direction fails to capture of the set, which seemed to put the location subtle so as not take away from the movie, but without the movie delivering, it fails on another score. Watch the Alfred Hitchcock’s version if possible, or watch it while scrolling through the phone.

Raat Akeli Hai

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https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12567088/

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Starring: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Radhika Apte, Shweta Tripathi, Ila Arun

Streaming on: Netflix

To watch or not to watch: A good whodunnit to watch over a meal

Raghuveer Singh, a politically connected, powerful and old landowner is found brutally murdered in his home on his wedding day. He was shot with a rifle and his face was bashed in with the same gun. The bride is Radha (Radhika Apte) who was sold to Raghuveer Singh and was his mistress. The wedding party was small, with only immediate family members in attendance. They opposed to the marriage, and they all collude to blame Radha for the murder. In comes Inspector Jatil Yadav (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) to investigate the crime, which includes political plot points and internal conflicts between family members.

It is not a very refreshing movie, as crime/mystery/thrillers are a dime a dozen and are a formula for success. This is different from others, in that it has a larger cast list with more well-known faces and a bit more serious crime plot. The movie touches a few social issues and doesn’t veer off the plot. They could have built upon the character stories a bit more, specially Radha, who has a key role. Even Jatil Yadav’s character is only understood by some subtext spread across the movie, making it difficult to understand the reason behind his actions and decisions.

The performances by Radhika Apte and Nawazuddin Siddiqui are perfect. In theory, they would have made an unlikely pair online, but in execution it all looks seamless. It isn’t something which demands constant attention and can be watched while getting chores done. It is good content from Netflix Originals, maybe their best yet.

Schitt’s Creek

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https://www.cinematerial.com

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Starring: Eugene Levy, Catherine O’Hara, Daniel Levy, Annie Murphy

Streaming on: Netflix

To watch or not to watch: A must watch – a perfect pick-me-upper

A filthy rich family in a big town has all its assets seized because their accountant misfiled their taxes. The only asset left with them is a town called Schitt’s Creek, which the dad, Johnny Rose (Eugene Levy) bought as a joke for his son, David (Daniel Levy). The town is so hopeless that even the revenue department couldn’t sell it. So the family, which also has a daughter, Alexis Rose (Annie Murphy) and a mother, Moira (Catherine O’Hara) move to the motel in Schitt’s Creek. Their current situation is a far cry from their previous life, which was filled with expensive parties and clothes. The entire series follows them on the new adventure and shows how they rebuild their lives and relationships.

The premise of the series is not unheard of (Arrested Development comes to mind, which executes the same plot in a completely opposite story and is a blast) but the rest of it all is totally fresh. The characters are rich, spoiled and are lovable and not relatable at all, unless one is ultra rich. These 4 are utterly clueless on how the real world works and they have to navigate the new waters with only their resourcefulness. It is a huge change they have to make, where they have to adjust with not being the popular and have things come easy. The characters really grow over the seasons. It is heartening to see them really mature into less-pretentious adults and have care about others. Somewhat.

It is a hilarious story about reality check and self-improvement. Not an easy topic to work comedy into, and yet it achieves it. Daniel Levy is the star of the show. He is charming and probably the second least pretentious character after his series (and real life) father Eugene. The first season doesn’t leave the audience wanting too much, but just hang on. It is all more than worth it as the seasons progress. It is not often that series really evolve along with the characters and this show does it beautifully. A shout out to the costume designer Debra Hanson, who has subtly made the Roses look ridiculous and showed the difference in characters. A must watch for some much needed upliftment in these trying times.

Late Night

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https://tmc.io/

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Starring: Emma Thompson, Mindy Kaling

Streaming on: Amazon Prime

To watch or not to watch: A good watch for a lazy afternoon

Katherine Newbury (Emma Thompson) has been the host of a late night talk show for more than a decade. She has been famous once and regarded as the best in the industry. Now the ratings are declining and the network is planning to replace her with a new comedian. In parallel, she has been called out for hiring a certain demographic – male and Caucasian. In comes Molly Patel (Mindy Kaling) who was working at a chemical plant but somehow ended up in front of the show’s producer and is hired. Molly is new to the industry, naive, straight-shooter and down on her luck. Her fresh outlook gets her noticed and also helps Katherine in her personal and professional life.

The movie is likable. Very. It has good performances in Emma Thompson who is so strong as a person and as the character she plays, it is inspiring all round, and Mindy Kaling who is funny, smart and well, Indian. Hugh Dancy, Reid Scott and John Lithgow are other familiar faces. The movie addresses a lot of fundamental issues in the entertainment industry, like male dominance, nepotism, lack of ethnic diversity, and #MeToo. In a short stand-up clip in the movie, Katherine speaks how the industry discriminates on the basis of age of women, but not of men. It is hard hitting.

It is so refreshing to see a fell good movie which isn’t about romance, nor about a quirky female and an impossibly perfect male protagonist. Both the leading characters are females, and flawed in various degrees in their own different ways. They have genuine human problems which are relatable. The problem is, Late Night tries to do a lot together, such that not everything gets its proper attention. It isn’t a well made movie, but the creators weren’t going for it. Mindy Kaling and Nisha Ganatra (Director) wanted to portray the real struggles, some of which were from personal expereinces.

A good watch on a lazy afternoon for a little pick-me-up.

The Report

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https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8236336/

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Starring: Adam Driver, Annette Benning, John Hamm

Streaming on: Amazon Prime

To watch or not to watch: A must watch when looking for something intense

The movie is a true story of a US Senate Investigative Committee’s report on the CIA’s interrogation techniques after the 9/11 attacks. The ungainful torture of the suspected terrorists was called “Enhanced Interrogative Techniques” by the CIA and was outsourced to independent contractors, who did not have the qualification to carry out the task. And yet, they got the free hand for many years. After the government changed, interrogation by torture was supposed to stop, but didn’t, thus leading to the investigation. The Committee was led by an idealistic and tenacious Daniel J Jones and his small staff, working in a basement office for about 5 years. They got 6.3 million documents to read which lead to 6,700 pages’ report and about 500 pages summary. Understandably, there was backlash from CIA and the red tape restricted the access directly into the Agency.

Though the premise of the movie doesn’t make it a compelling watch, but it is. Scott Z Burns managed to make the process of reading the documents and the presentation of the report exciting and intriguing. the role of Daniel J Jones, played by Adam Driver, is an inspiring character in and of himself. The investigation, the screenplay of reading of the documents were interspersed by the footage of the interrogation of the suspected terrorists, all playing the emotions of the viewer masterfully.

The acting skills of Adam Driver have never been in question. Coupled with the ideal outlook of Dan Jones, he is truly commendable. The movie doesn’t pull any punches and is transparent about the entire process, including the apathy of the CIA, the plot to cover up the truth and the resistance from the White House to stop the truth from coming out. It is an honest movie, simply made and yet delivers. A must watch.

Meri Pyaari Bindu

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  • saavan.com

To watch or not to watch: A good watch over a slow weekend

Starring: Ayushmann Khurana, Parineeti Chopra

Abhimanyu Roy aka Bubla (Ayushmann Khurana) is the best selling author of pulp horror-sex genre. He is trying to pen a romantic novel and is caught in a writer’s block for 3 years. This effort is leading him to his past and the time he met the love of his life, Bindu Shankarnarayanan (Parineeti Chopra) when he was maybe 10 years’ old. Bindu had moved in the house next to Abhi’s in Kolkata. They strike a friendship which lasts for most of their adulthood. As they grow up, they go their separate ways and drift apart. They do bump into each other’s lives periodically, and one time Abhi confesses his love to Bindu. Their relationship is good as long as it lasts, but eventually, they do part ways.  All the things he has learned about Bindu and life, becomes the protagonist of Abhi’s latest book.

The movie is a potpourri of different romantic movies, a patchwork of sorts – each piece in itself will seem ordinary but together it fits beautifully. the front runner emotion in the movie is nostagia, with Abhi thinking about Bindu and his relationship, compared to the dull existence in his current life. Parineeti Chopra’s role as Bindu is a stereotyped Yash Raj girl, full of life and a rebel. Both the actors’ chemistry on screen seems natural and believable. Their history is out of When Harry Met Sally, where they keep running into each other at different stages of their lives. Towards the end, it takes on a 500 Days of Summer vibe. Because of constant back and forth between now and then, the movie is a bit choppy in parts.

Though it is not a perfect movie, it makes the audience emotional and eager to know how the lives of the characters turned out. The dialogues do not have anything worth remembering or quoting, they are downright pedantic at times. The growth of the characters from kids to middle-aged is mature and kind of validates the mistakes people make in their lives and sends a messge that lives do go on despite that. Watch the movie for the performances and the portrayal of a different mature relationship. It goes well with a glass of wine and popcorn.